Final Four Madness

Hi Vegas fans,

Whether your brackets are busted or you are hanging on by a thread, it's always fun to watch the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments and pull for your teams. This year, I had two brackets for the men's tournament.

In my office bracket, I picked some big upsets (VCU beating G'town and Richmond beating Morehead St to reach the round of 16) but my brackets started to fall apart after that. My final four in that bracket are Kentucky, Connecticut, Kansas and Kansas St. I have Kansas beating UConn in the final. I'm in 3rd place there, and I don't think I have a chance to win it (haven't seen the other contestants' final four teams yet.

In my other bracket, run by my brother-in-law, I have the same final four, but in this one I have Kentucky beating Kansas in the final. This past weekend, a very specific scenario would ensure me a win regardless of what happens in the final four: Butler had to beat Florida, UConn had to win over Arizona, VCU had to topple Kansas, and Kentucky needed to secure the W over UNC. So you could imagine my surprise and utter jubilation when all four of those things happened. It was like my own magical mini-tournament.

College basketball - gotta love it. You never know what's gonna happen. I'll be in Vegas for the final four, and no matter who I bet on, it'll be quite a great experience watching the games knowing that I've already secured a win in one of my two pools!

Viva,

Mike

You Know You're a Vegas Nut When...

Hi Vegas fans,

This falls under the category of "certified Vegas nut." If I see Vegas-related stuff on TV, I watch it.

Now before you picture me on the couch, drinking a Colt 45 in my boxers with my hand in the pork rind bag, I want to clarify that I don't watch a lot of TV. But upon my return from the gym tonight (see... no booze or snack foods) I have found myself watching "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel. Last night it was "Undercover Boss" on CBS, which was about MGM Grand President and CEO Scott Sibella. Very touching show - I like Sibella.

I guess writing a Vegas travel guide also falls into the category of fanatic. What about you? I'd love to hear about what makes you a Vegas nut...

Viva,

Mike

eBooks and Apps

I love apps. I've been playing with my iPad and discovering all kinds of fun stuff, especially Vegas-related. Apps are fun, cool and interactive. Perfect for small, mobile devices for people on the go.

Of course, I love eBooks, too, but they're different. eBooks contain more content and fewer features. The content might consist of words, pictures or maps, but the interaction doesn't work the same way as an app.

Obviously, there's a difference between reading/searching a book and surfing an app. There's a purpose for each. If I want to see photos of the Bellagio fountains and locate them on the Strip, then an app is great. Maybe I can read a review of them and see what time the shows run, too. So the app provides a snapshot of Vegas while you're there and gives you snippets of information. Which is great.

On the other hand, a good travel guide gives you a different experience. It connects the dots with a story. Now I don't mean a literal story, but rather one that arms you with information that you can use when you plan your trip and also use as content you can search while you are there.

Here's an example. Suppose I'm planning my trip to Vegas and I've decided that I'm going to see the volcano at Mirage because I haven't seen it in a while. I'm also a blackjack player, so I want to know what to expect at the tables. I know I'll only be in Vegas 3 days, so I want to explore as much mid-Strip as I can without having to take a taxi or spend a lot of time wearing out my shoes trying to find an Italian restaurant or a Cirque du Soleil show. By the way, my wife's coming with me, and she's going to want to shop, too.

That's my story, and whether I'm planning these things a month before I'm in Vegas or when I arrive at McCarran airport, it's the story that a good travel guide can help me tell, and it can do it comprehensively, in one format.

Maybe there's room for both apps and eBooks in this crazy new world. With free Kindle and Nook apps for the iPhone and iPad, you can have your travel guide at your fingertips. So while you're searching for "volcano" within your Vegas travel guide on your iPhone to see what time it erupts, you can also see that there's a free tram to take you to TI so you can see Mystere. You'll also see on a good map that there's a pedestrian bridge to take you over to the Venetian so you can spend some non-gambling money at the Grand Canal Shoppes. Oh, and if you want to spend some money gambling, your travel guide will remind you to find a 3-2 blackjack table and stay away from those 6-5 tables.

In any event, make sure that you tell your own story (even if you make it up) the next time you... Go to Vegas. It's that simple.

Viva,
Mike

MGM Grand featured on Undercover Boss

Hi Vegas fans,

Tune in to Undercover Boss on CBS tonight to see the president and COO of the MGM Grand discover how the operation works.

Viva,
Mike

Baccarat and Blackjack

Hi Vegas fans,

I read an article in the Las Vegas Sun recently which reports that baccarat and penny slots are overtaking blackjack as the number one game on the Strip. Baccarat is a high-end game, and penny slots are obviously cheap entertainment. The article quotes Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor, who points out that blackjack is a game for the mid-market gambler.


With the economy the way it is, this kind of makes sense. Affluent people who can afford to go to Vegas these days are going to spend some coin on a game like baccarat. But gamblers who may have played $1 slots before are probably downgrading to the penny machines. But what about the average Joe and Jane, who play blackjack as their game of choice? Would they just not play as much because the economy is bad? Maybe. Maybe not.

There is one other factor that I think is missing in this equation. Caesars Entertainment, formerly Harrah's, now owns a majority of the casinos on the Strip. Their blackjack rules are terrible (6-5 payout on natural blackjacks, dealer hits on soft 17, etc.), even on multi-deck games. I no longer play at any of these casinos, which is a shame. I remember when Bill's Gamblin' Hall (formerly Barbary Coast.... which was a better name that did not require apostrophies or ampersands) was a great place to play $5 blackjack. So was Caesars, Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood), the Rio... and the list goes on. As Caesars Entertainment acquired more properties mid-Strip, I found myself on the very northern and southern ends of the Strip.

The funny thing is that it doesn't have to be this way. Casinos can have their cake and eat it, too. They can make the rules slightly better for players, which will drive more people to the tables. They still have an advantage, even with good rules.

Casinos may be worried about card counters. I get this. Make single-deck games 6-5; that's the price you pay if you are going to try to count. Install a constant shuffle machine for multi-deck games and use other measures to ward off card counters. But you are losing an opportunity with the large percentage of us who are not card counters.

The Strip needs blackjack as a staple because it needs the mid-market. If it's going to attract gamblers, it must provide a few decent games with fair rules. The good news is that there are still some places to play $5 and $10 blackjack with good rules, including: Stratosphere, MGM properties, Riviera, downtown, and several of the outskirts casinos (such as Station properties, Orleans, Las Vegas Hilton, etc.).

I encourage you to seek blackjack tables with good rules and to tell anyone who will listen to you to do the same. If you get surveys or have questions about your experience at a casino, comment on the blackjack rules, especially if they are bad. I'm starting a blackjack revolution. Will you join me?

Viva!
Mike

Sahara to Close

Hi Vegas fans,

It's a sad day for low-rollers. The storied Sahara Hotel and Casino on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip is closing May 16th. Until then, it's business as usual, according to the casino.

The casino opened in 1952 and is famous for the Rat Pack days with Sinatra and company. Elvis hung out there in the 60s. In recent years, they built a roller coaster and added NASCAR attractions in an attempt to modernize the property.

The casino is extremely smokey, even by Vegas standards, and attracted grinds with $1 blackjack and other low-minimum games. The floor is dark and cramped. I know I'm not painting an attractive picture of it, but I always liked it. It's hard to capture the charm of this casino, but I always felt comfortable there. It's more like a downtown casino than a Strip joint, and maybe that's why it's had a hard time financially.

The Strip is a tough gig, especially these days when competition is fierce for every tourist dollar. The high-end joints, like Wynn, Palazzo, Bellagio, and Cosmo, are lowering prices to attract more people. Where does that leave the Sahara, the Riv, and the Strat? When they can't attract customers based on price, they lose their edge.

So it begs the question... is there still room on the Strip for the older casinos? Can they compete against the big, new venues with powerful marketing machines? I hope so. One of my favorite aspects of Las Vegas is the variety you get on every street. Whether it's a pyramid, pirates or the tallest tower west of the Mississippi, I'm looking to have fun and be entertained. Well, that and 3-2 blackjack.

Viva Sahara, I will miss you.
Mike

Amazon Author Page

Hi Vegas fans,

I now have an author page Amazon.com. I hope you enjoy the page and post comments frequently!

Viva,
Mike

You Pad, We Pad, All Vegas Fans Can iPad!

Hi Vegas fans,

In case you haven't guessed, I recently purchased an iPad. I'd been looking for an excuse to buy one, and this year's income tax refund sealed the deal. It's quite a fun tablet, and it's so easy to use. It's light and surprisingly fast. It has fun games for free and stores a ton of iTunes music and photos. Great stuff.

One main reason I bought an iPad is to use when I travel to Vegas. I don't like lugging around a laptop through the airport and up to the hotel. And my Kindle just doesn't quite cut it when I need to do a lot of surfing online. Plus I can download the Kindle and Nook apps for the iPad, which allow me to read my books on one device.

With the iPad, I can get online quickly. If I don't want to pay for a hotel's wireless connection, I can go to a nearby Starbucks or other hot spot to get service. I'm not online a lot in Vegas, so it's not like I'd be dependent on the connection, but it's nice to have.

I will also find it useful on the plane. Between blackjack games, music and movies, I'll be able to pass the time faster and have a lot more fun. I can also read my travel guide and get really excited about my trip. While I have time to read on the plane, I'll also probably come up with some good ideas to modify it.

Some folks just need a smart phone. Others take a Kindle or a Nook to read on vacation. And some travelers will bring their laptops with them to Vegas. For me, the iPad is a win-win!

Viva,
Mike